Economy
Stanbic IBTC Showcases Investment Potentials in Nigeria
By Dipo Olowookere
Investment banking giant, Stanbic IBTC Plc, last week held a three-day conference in Lagos, where it showcased the different investment potentials in Nigeria.
The event, Standard Bank West Africa Investors’ Conference (WAIC), in its 10th edition, took place from Tuesday, September 17 to Friday, September 20, 2019 and was Prism of Possibilities.
It brought together foreign and local institutional investors, fund managers, regulators and policy makers, bankers, businessmen and captains of industry among others.
Nigeria still remains an attraction for foreign investments as the country’s economy continues to experience growth and perhaps, no organization is better positioned to host an investors’ conference than Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC.
According to the Nigerian Capital Importation report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, was responsible for 30.34 percent of the total capital inflow into the country in 2019. The bank has so far recorded $1.765 billion worth of investments this year.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the CEO of Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, Mr Demola Sogunle, stated that, “The West Africa Investors’ Conference serves as a veritable platform to match investors to investment opportunities. The idea is to be able to showcase the potential investments inherent in Nigeria to individual and institutional investors who are looking to invest in the different sectors in the Nigerian economy.”
The highlight of the opening day of the conference was a panel discussion on advancing FinTech frontiers in Nigeria.
According to Mr Sogunle, this year’s edition of the conference dedicated its panel session to FinTechs due to their significant role in the Nigerian economy.
“The Nigerian financial system as we know it is being disrupted with the introduction of innovative products and services. There is also the need for FinTechs to see potential areas of alignment with financial institutions.
“We hosted this panel session to create a platform for FinTechs to interact with serious minded frontier-market focused fund managers for possible areas of engagement. We also carefully chose the panelists based on their professionalism and years of expertise,” he said.
Speakers at the panel session were Akeem Lawal, Divisional CEO, Switching and Processing, Interswitch, Olugbenga Agboola, Co-Founder, Flutterwave and Iniabasi Akpan, Country Manager, O’Pay.
Interswitch’s Akeem Lawal stated that banks that don’t evolve, risk becoming extinct. He further added that 95% of financial transactions in Nigeria are still cash-based; which presents an opportunity for FinTechs and financial institutions to tap into in terms of expanding the frontiers of financial inclusion in Nigeria. He further advocated for a collaboration amongst FinTechs and financial institutions.
In his remarks, Akpan, Country Manager of O’Pay said he does not foresee a future where the rise of FinTechs will negatively impact the services of banking institutions. He however stated that banks need to be more agile in service delivery while also upgrading their infrastructure to enable seamless connectivity with FinTechs.
Gbenga Agboola, Co-Founder and CEO of Flutterwave stated that the Nigerian FinTech industry was not lacking in talent to take up roles. He added that his company, Flutterwave, has attracted skilled employees from leading banks and consultancy firms. He also reiterated the need for collaboration among FinTechs, financial institutions and telecom companies for better service delivery to customers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Okitipupa Plc was the sole price gainer at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, August 7, lifting the trading platform by 0.44 per cent at the close of transactions.
The share price of the palm oil producer appreciated during the trading session by N25.00 or 9.0 per cent to N277.00 per unit compared with the previous day’s N252.00 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation gained N12.29 billion to close at N2,807 trillion, in contrast to the previous session’s N2.795 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) added 93.63 points to finish at 4,678.08 points compared with Thursday’s 4,657.59 points.
The bourse recorded a price loser yesterday, and this was Mass Telecoms Innovation Plc, which crashed by 3 Kobo or 9.4 per cent to settle at 32 Kobo per share versus the previous day’s 35 Kobo per share.
The volume of securities traded by investors plunged by 81.5 per cent to 535,7560 units from 2.9 million units, the value of securities slumped by 93.9 per cent to N6.0 million from N99.2 million, and the number of deals decreased by 41.9 per cent to 36 deals from 62 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 77.0 million units exchanged for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.15 per cent growth was achieved by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, driven by continued buying interest in banking stocks such as First Holdco and others.
The banking index was up by 1.53 per cent during the session, offsetting the losses recorded by the others. The industrial goods segment fell by 0.37 per cent, the insurance counter shrank by 0.21 per cent, and the energy sector contracted by 0.04 per cent, while the consumer goods space closed flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 364.26 points to 245,573.60 points from 245,209.34 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N235 billion to N158.513 trillion from N158.278 trillion.
Despite the gains printed by Customs Street during the trading day, investor sentiment was weak, as there were 22 price gainers and 24 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UPDC surged by 9.23 per cent to N3.55, CWG soared by 6.56 per cent to N19.50, AXA Mansard appreciated by 4.80 per cent to N13.10, Neimeth advanced by 4.24 per cent to N8.60, and Cutix improved by 4.00 per cent to N2.60.
Conversely, Red Star Express lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N18.00, CAP declined by 9.98 per cent to N115.45, John Holt shrank by 9.82 per cent to N10.10, ABC Transport depreciated by 9.57 per cent to N5.20, and Legend Internet crashed by 8.70 per cent to N4.20.
A total of 1.5 billion equities worth N26.7 billion exchanged hands in 42,580 deals on Friday versus the 531.8 million equities valued at N20.5 billion traded in 44,826 deals on Thursday, representing a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 182.06 per cent, 30.24 per cent, and 5.01 per cent, respectively.
The busiest stock during the session was Fortis Global Insurance, with a turnover of 824.5 million units valued at N2.1 billion, FCMB traded 217.9 million units worth N2.8 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 176.2 million units for N4.7 billion, Chams sold 32.5 million units worth N132.1 million, and First Holdco transacted 25.0 million units valued at N3.7 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further closed south against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, August 7, by 81 Kobo or 0.06 per cent to N1,365.69/$1 from N1,364.88/$1.
It was a similar situation for the Nigerian Naira in the official market during the session as against the Pound Sterling; it lost N1.08 to quote at N1,839.17 versus the previous day’s N1,838.09/£1, and against the Euro, it slipped by N1.23 to close at N1,575.73/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,574.80/€1.
Further, at the GTBank forex counter, the Nigerian currency weakened against the Dollar yesterday by N2 to settle at N1,371/$1 compared with Thursday’s N1,369/$1, and at the black market, it traded flat at N1,400/$1.
The country’s legal tender came under FX demand pressure on Friday, with turnover rising by 304.3 per cent to $399.5 million from $98.8 million the previous day, with the number of deals slightly up to 107 from 106.
Next week, traders expect the Naira to hold steady, buoyed by dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), whose presence in the market could help ease demand pressure.
As for the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) neared the $65,000-mark after it gained 0.8 per cent to trade at $64,968.05, as investors took advantage of recent drops to shore up their holdings.
Previously, the decision by the US Senate to delay a vote on the Crypto Clarity Act until at least September weakened the outlook. The bill, which would set out which US regulator oversees which digital assets, needs 60 votes to pass and it is unclear whether it currently has 50.
Solana (SOL) grew by 2.5 per cent to $74.81, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 1.3 per cent to $0.0702, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped by 1.1 per cent to $593.80, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 0.5 per cent to $1,916.08, Ripple (XRP) also soared by 0.5 per cent to $1.03, and TRON (TRX) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to $0.3275.
However, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.1997, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
